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Chapter 222 Getting a Jutsu from Jiraya?!
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BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Sasuke's hand shot out and silenced the alarm in one clean motion.
The sliding balcony door opened with a soft click. Cool air brushed against his face as the sun began to rise over the uchiha compound. Pale gold light stretched across the empty courtyard below. He went back inside, set water to boil, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and tied his hair back. When the kettle began to whisper, he measured out coffee beans, ground them carefully, and poured the water through a filter with steady hands.
The smell filled the kitchen.
He carried the mug to the balcony and leaned against the railing, taking a slow sip.
Sasuke had been enjoying the quiet of the morning... right up until it was violently interrupted by a very loud reminder that Naruto existed.
"SASUKE!"
The balcony window door slammed open.
Sasuke almost spilled his coffee.
Naruto stumbled out in bright orange pajamas and a ridiculous conical sleeping hat that drooped over one eye. In one hand he held a large metal pot filled with water. In the other, he dangled Oscar by the tail like luggage.
"What are you doing?"
Naruto ignored him and set the pot down on the balcony tiles. He formed a quick hand sign. A small, controlled flame flickered under the pot. He dipped a finger into the warming water, nodded to himself, and lowered Oscar into it.
The lizard floated, perfectly content.
Sasuke blinked once. "…You're boiling a lizard."
"It's a bath," Naruto shot back. "He likes warm water. Right, Oscar?"
Oscar made a pleased little trill.
Sasuke decided this was not worth the energy. He took another sip of coffee.
Naruto stretched and yawned loudly. "So. What's for breakfast?"
Sasuke didn't look at him. "There isn't any."
"C'mon. You've gotta eat something."
"I don't really do breakfast," Sasuke said, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'll have this, maybe some fruit if I feel like it."
"So, you just drink bitter bean juice."
"…Say that again."
"Bean. Juice."
There was a long pause.
"You have the palate of a five-year-old," Sasuke said calmly.
"At least I enjoy life."
"At least I don't think instant ramen is a balanced diet."
Naruto gasped. "You take that back."
Sasuke sipped his coffee. "No."
Naruto crouched by Oscar's bath, muttering, "Ignore him, buddy. Some people wake up and choose misery."
"I choose comfortable silence," Sasuke corrected. "And you're ruining it."
Before Naruto could fire back, something landed onto the balcony railing. "So this is where you ran off to."
Both boys glanced to the side to see Jiraiya balanced on the railing like a toad.
Sasuke frowned. "Why is everyone suddenly trespassing in my house?"
"I'm not everyone," Jiraiya said lazily, still perched on the railing. "I'm just here for the brat. You could've left a note, you know."
"I didn't have the energy to write a note while half the village was camping outside my door."
"Fair enough." The white haired sannin turned to Sasuke. "Mind if I borrow him for a bit?"
Sasuke lifted his coffee and took a slow sip. "Be my guest. I'll enjoy the peace and quiet."
Naruto gasped dramatically. "You wound me, teme."
"You'll recover," Sasuke replied.
"Anyway," Jiraiya said, hopping down from the railing, "let's go, brat. I've got some news."
Naruto perked up immediately. "What kind of news?"
"The kind you don't shout about on someone else's balcony."
"Okay, okay. Let's go."
Without another word, the redhead hopped onto the railing and leapt down to the courtyard below.
Jiraiya followed in a blur.
As they landed, Naruto's voice floated back up. "Sasuke! Look after Oscar for me!"
"Hn."
The uchiha took another sip of coffee, listening as their voices carried faintly through the quiet compound.
"Pervy Sage, did you know Sasuke doesn't eat breakfast?" Naruto called.
"What kind of idiot doesn't eat breakfast?" Jiraiya replied immediately.
"I KNOW, RIGHT?"
Sasuke's eye twitched at that as lonliness returned.
Almost.
He looked down at the metal pot still sitting on the balcony tiles.
Oscar blinked up at him from the warm water.
Sasuke stared back. "…How do you tolerate him?"
Oscar chirped.
"Yeah," Sasuke muttered. "I don't get it either."
He stepped over, crouched beside the pot, and examined the lizard more closely. The creature tilted its head, steam rising faintly around it.
Sasuke glanced at his mug, then back at the lizard. "…You want to try coffee?"
Oscar nodded.
Sasuke smirked faintly. "Thought so."
He dipped a fingertip into the mug and let a single drop fall near Oscar's mouth. The lizard flicked its tongue. Then immediately recoiled.
Sasuke let out the smallest huff of amusement. "Pathetic."
Oscar made an offended little trill and splashed water at him.
"…You're lucky you're cute," Sasuke muttered.
Oscar blinked slowly, entirely unbothered.
Sasuke stood, drained the last of his coffee, and looked out over the compound once more. He valued the quiet, but lately… he didn't entirely mind that the house wasn't so silent anymore.
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After grabbing breakfast from a small street stall, Naruto and Jiraiya wandered through the village at an easy pace.
Jiraiya had been gone for years at a time, drifting between borders and brothels, battlefields and back alleys. Naruto took it upon himself to give him a "proper tour," which mostly meant pointing at places and saying, "I onced pranked them like this."
But, neither of them was in a rush.
Jiraiya had been gone for years at a time, always chasing rumors, women, or trouble. Naruto had spent his life moving forward at full speed, whether that meant training, fighting, or surviving in lordran.
Walking without urgency felt… strangely nice.
"You know," Naruto said, pointing at a renovated storefront, "that used to be an old weapons shop. Now it's a dango café."
"I remember that place used to sell kunai so bad they'd bend if you sneezed on them. Good riddance."
They passed the academy.
Jiraiya stopped.
"This courtyard used to be smaller," he said, hands tucked into his sleeves. "Back in my day, we trained on packed dirt. No tiles. If you tripped, you ate rocks."
"Sounds about right."
"And over there," Jiraiya continued, pointing toward a distant rooftop, "that's where Tsunade punched me through a wall for peeking."
Naruto blinked. "You deserved it."
"I was doing research."
"You deserved it."
Jiraiya laughed.
They eventually reached the park near the river. Children ran across the grass. Elderly civilians fed koi in the pond. Naruto sat down on a wooden bench beneath a broad tree. Jiraiya returned from a nearby vendor holding a pale blue twin-stick popsicle.
He handed one half to Naruto.
"So," Naruto said around a bite, "what did you want to talk about?"
Jiraiya licked his popsicle slowly, eyes drifting toward the sky.
"Naruto, does Lordran have dragons?"
Naruto swallowed. "Yeah. But the true dragons were wiped out a long time ago by the Lords of Lordran. What's left are descendants. Still dangerous, but not the everlasting kind."
"What's the difference?"
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Dunno. The old ones were immortal or something."
"Comforting," Jiraiya muttered.
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
"Is there a possibility that a dragon could escape from Lordran?"
Naruto didn't hesitate. "No."
Jiraiya's gaze sharpened. "Are you sure?"
That made Naruto pause.
He frowned slightly, thinking it through instead of answering on instinct.
"Look," he said finally, "I can't give you a hundred percent guarantee. But getting out of Lordran is insanely hard. Me being able to do it is… not normal. It's kind of a big deal over there."
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"Even if something did escape, I'd kill it."
Jiraiya glanced at him.
When Naruto spoke those words, something in his expression shifted. The easy going attitude disappeared, replaced by a calm, cutting focus that mirrored the Fourth Hokage the moment he stepped onto a battlefield.
"Pervy Sage, Knights were created to fight dragons."
Jiraiya believed him.
Still…
"Why are you asking?" Naruto said, tilting his head.
Jiraiya almost laughed it off. Almost said something about idle curiosity. But that wasn't fair. What kind of godfather kept secrets out of fear? "Naruto, have you ever heard of the Child of Prophecy?"
"Sounds dramatic."
Jiraiya leaned back on the bench, staring at the clouds. "Long ago, the Great Toad Sage told me a prophecy. He said one of my students would change the world. That they would either bring about great peace… or plunge everything into destruction."
Naruto slowly nodded.
"I've spent most of my life chasing that prophecy," Jiraiya continued. "Looking for the one who would fulfill it. I thought it was your father once. I thought it might've been Nagato. I've been wrong before."
The wind stirred the treetops above them, carrying the distant sounds of the village.
"Pervy Sage, you're going way off topic. What are you even talking about?"
Jiraiya winced. "Yeah, yeah. I'm rambling. The point is that I trusted thiz. I built my life around it. I kept thinking if I found the so-called Child of Destiny, everything would make sense."
Naruto snorted and waved a hand as if brushing away smoke.
"What was that for?"
"I think the whole prophecy thing is flawed," Naruto said bluntly. "You're putting the weight of the entire world on one person's shoulders. That doesn't make sense. No matter how strong someone is, they can't rewrite human nature."
Jiraiya watched him carefully.
"People fight because they want different things," Naruto went on. "Power, money, revenge and pride. Even if one guy forces peace, what happens after he's gone? What happens when the next generation disagrees? Or when someone stronger shows up and decides to take everything?"
He looked out over the park.
"One person can't control greed, fear, or hatred forever. If peace is real, it has to come from everyone choosing it. Not from some chosen hero who fixes everything alone."
Jiraiya's expression softened.
"How do you bring true peace to a world that's always been torn apart by conflict? That question followed me through every war, every mission, every loss." He exhaled "Maybe I'll never find the answer."
"Why not?"
"Because the Great Toad Sage has spoken again." Jiraiya's face grew solemn. "He said the first prophecy may still come true… but the future is shifting. Even he can't see it clearly anymore."
Naruto frowned.
"This time, it was a warning that… a dragon will attack Konoha."
Images flooded Naruto's mind. The undead ancient dragons. The crackling lightning wrapped around Stormrend. The lesser drakes that still prowled the valley of drakes.
"Is it supposed to come from Lordran?"
"I don't know," Jiraiya admitted. "It might not be connected at all. But knowing dragons once ruled that land… it feels like more than coincidence."
Naruto stared at the ground for a moment.
"So what you're saying is… if I stop going to Lordran, maybe that stops the dragon?"
"That's one possibility," Jiraiya said gravely.
Naruto shook his head immediately. "No way."
Jiraiya blinked.
"You said the future is shifting, right?" Naruto continued. "You said it's dim. That means it isn't fixed."
He pointed at Jiraiya.
"The second you told me about this warning, the future changed. If it was dim before, it's dimmer now because I know."
Jiraiya's jaw tightened, searching for a rebuttal and finding none.
"Well, regardless of where this dragon is from, you're going to need to prepare for it," Jiraiya said seriously.
"Oh?"
Jiraiya bit into his thumb, drawing blood with as his hands blurred through seals.
Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!
A massive plume of smoke exploded outward, grass bending under the pressure. When it cleared, an enormous toad stood before them, large enough for Jiraiya to ride comfortably on its back. Its skin was a deep orange, patterned with bold blue markings. Bandages wrapped around its torso and left foreleg. Around its neck hung a heavy necklace of seven large beads, the central and largest carved with the kanji for loyalty. On its left palm were three swirl-like markings.
Clamped in its wide mouth was a giant scroll.
"Gamachu," Jiraiya said, patting the toad's side. "Open the summoning contract."
The toad's long tongue unfurled, placing the massive scroll on the ground before Naruto with surprising delicacy.
"This, is the contract with Mount Myoboku. It's been passed down for generations."
He pointed to the parchment.
"First, you write your name in blood. Below that, you press all your fingerprints. After signing this, you'll be able to summon toads in battle. Just like me. Just like your old man."
Naruto's eyes drifted over the names.
Jiraiya.
Minato Namikaze.
Then an empty column waiting for him. Yet Naruto didn't lift his hand.
"What's wrong, brat? Why aren't you writing?"
"I'm going to have to say no to the toad contract."
"…What?"
"I'm not signing."
"Why?" Jiraiya demanded. "Aren't you the same kid who practically demanded his parents' legacy? This is technically your father's legacy!"
"I know, I know," Naruto said quickly. "But it feels unnecessary."
"Unnecessary?" Jiraiya echoed incredulously.
"I don't see myself using toads in combat," Naruto explained. "Getting out of Lordran is hard. Getting in is even harder. I don't even know if summoning contracts would function there. And even outside of Lordran, I've already got Oscar. I don't think he'd appreciate giant toads hopping around us in battle."
Naruto pressed his palms together in apology. "I'm sorry, Pervy Sage."
"…It's your decision."
Jiraya tried to sound neutral, but the disappointment slipped through. With a grunt, he rolled up the large contract and handed it back to Gamachu. The toad vanished in another puff of smoke.
Jiraiya then pulled out a smaller scroll and crouched, beginning to inscribe a complex fuinjutsu array onto it with swift strokes.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm making you a summoning scroll," Jiraiya said without looking up. "I'll assign a specific toad to it. That way, while I'm out of the village, you can contact me directly."
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah." Jiraiya finished the seal and blew lightly to dry the ink. "I've got to track down Tsunade and bring her back to Konoha. We'll need her for the Chunin Exams."
"When?"
"Sensei wanted me to leave right away," Jiraiya said, "I pushed it back a few days because I figured I'd teach you summoning properly before I went. Guess that plan's not happening now."
Naruto glanced at the small scroll, then back up at him. "What if, instead, you gave me a jutsu I'd actually use?"
"Oh? And what would that be, Your Highness?"
"I'm good with whatever," Naruto replied with a shrug. "As long as it's not something I'll never touch."
"Alright. New question. What's the plan for that hair of yours? You gonna cut it?"
Naruto immediately shook his head, brushing a hand through his long crimson hair. "No way. I like it long. Makes me look cool and handsome too. And Oscar likes sleeping in it."
"Then I have the perfect jutsu for you. A technique most shinobi ignore because they think it's flashy or gimmicky. Fools. In the right hands, it's a battlefield control monster."
"You're overselling it."
"Am I?" Jiraiya asked. "What if I told you this jutsu works as solid defense, mid-range restraint, sudden offense, and a hard counter to close-quarters fighters? And with your ridiculous chakra reserves, you could maintain it all day without breaking a sweat."
"Okay, now I'm interested."
Jiraiya blurred through a rapid string of hand signs. Chakra pulsed outward from his scalp.
His white hair began to move on its own. Thick strands spilled down his back and over his shoulders, growing longer and heavier. In seconds it spread outward like the quills of some enormous beast. He slammed his foot down, dust kicking up around him, and threw his arms wide in an outrageously dramatic pose.
"Behold! The magnificent Lion's Mane of Jiraiya!"
Naruto blinked. "…Like the mushroom?"
A crow cawed in the distance.
"Eh?"
"You know," Naruto continued helpfully, "the fluffy white fungus? Looks like a beard glued to a coconut? Pretty sure Teuchi-san mentioned it once."
Jiraiya deflated so fast it was almost audible. His glorious mane sagged.
"Shut up," he muttered darkly. "People like to assume it's based on an actual lion. The Majestic King of beasts."
Naruto squinted at the hair still puffed out around him. "…It kinda does look like the fungus though."
"It does not!"
"It does."
Jiraiya pointed accusingly. "You wanna learn this or not."
"Yes."
"Then listen carefully."
Ths Art of the Raging Lion's Mane worked by channeling chakra into the scalp to temporarily accelerate its metabolism, causing the hair to grow at a rapid rate. At the same time, chakra flows through each strand, hardening it to a density comparable to steel wire.
The duo wandered to an empty training field to practice.
"Brat, do you know how Lion's Mane helps with solid defense, mid-range restraint, sudden offense, and a hard counter to close-quarters fighters?"
"Dunno."
"It's the underlying principle of the jutsu that makes it so versatile. The art of chakra string manipulation."
Naruto tilted his head. "How does string relate to a hair jutsu?"
"Because the hair is the medium."
Jiraya lifted a strand of his own long white hair and let it fall between his fingers. "Lion's Mane is just about growing your hair and hardening it. That's only step one. The real trick is weaving chakra strings through every strand. The same principle puppeteers use to control dolls."
"So you're controlling each strand like a limb?"
"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded. "Without strings, it's just reinforced hair. With strings, it becomes an extra limb."
He held up a finger.
"Solid defense? You bundle the strands tight and anchor them with dense chakra strings. You hair now acts like a shield."
Another finger.
"Mid-range restraint? Split the strands thinner. Extend them outward like cords. Wrap, bind, and pull."
A third finger.
"Sudden offense? Coil the strands with tension in the strings, then release. It snaps forward like a whip."
He leaned closer.
"And close-quarters fighters? They rely on entering your range. But if your hair is controlled by chakra strings, your entire radius becomes active territory. They step in, they get caught."
Naruto ran a hand through his crimson hair thoughtfully. "…That's awesome."
"Of course it is," Jiraiya said proudly.
"Alright, pervy sage, serious question about this jutsu."
Jiraiya waved a hand lazily. "Go ahead."
"Could you… maybe… use it to make a bald guy not bald anymore?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"It's important."
"No, it isn't."
"It is to the bald guy."
"I… what? No. Maybe. How should I know?" Jiraiya snapped, rubbing his temple. "That's not what this jutsu was designed for. Stop wasting my time with nonsense."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. A different question. Can I use it to style my hair?"
Jiraiya slowly lowered his eyelids and gave him a long, flat stare. "Alright, brat. What are you planning?"
Naruto's lips curled into a mischievous grin. He rubbed his palms together.
"Picture this. I'm talking to someone. Every time they blink, my hair changes. Spiky then straight. Then maybe curly. Small changes at first. They keep blinking. It keeps changing. And I act completely normal. After a while they start wondering if they're losing their mind or are in a genjutsu."
He let out a villianous cackle, clearly proud of himself.
Jiraiya stared at him, caught somewhere between disbelief and reluctant amusement. He shook his head. "In theory, yes. If you gained enough control, you could manipulate it for styling. But is that really your grand plan for a jutsu this versatile? Hairstyle pranks?"
"Obviously I'd use it differently in a real fight! I'm not dumb. And it's not like there's some rule that says I can't use ninjutsu to have a little fun!"
"Okay, so the average human head has somewhere between eighty thousand and a hundred fifty thousand hairs. If you tried to move every strand individually, you would need tens of thousands of chakra strings. Each one anchored to a strand for maximum control. The level of control required would make most shinobi quit before they even began."
Naruto tilted his head. "So that's why you bundle the hair together, right? Makes it easier?"
"Exactly. Bundling reduces the number of chakra threads you need to maintain. It also reinforces the structure. But even then, the control is brutal. I would wager that even Suna's best puppet masters would give up halfway through."
Naruto's eyes lit up.
A massive puff of smoke exploded across the training field. When it cleared, hundreds of shadow clones stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Alright! Are we about to give up?"
"NO!"
"Are we going to let anyone deny us our right to prank?"
"NEVER!"
The roar shook the open plain.
Naruto thrust his fist into the air. "Then we train like never before! We master this jutsu! We make the impossible possible! Together!"
"Dattebayo!" the army of Narutos bellowed, their voices echoing like a war cry.
The original Naruto turned to Jiraiya and clapped him on the shoulder, completely satisfied.
"All yours, sensei, teach us everything."
Jiraiya stood there in stunned silence, staring at the sea of identical maniacs burning with determination.
All this effort, chakra and time for a prank.
"All of this… just to mildly annoy people. Minato, your kid is insane."
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Author Note:
Sorry for the late upload, guys. Life has been really busy for me lately, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I am still writing consistently, even when updates slow down a bit.
Now, let's get into the Q and A.
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1) Why did you give Naruto Jiraiya's hair style jutsu?
Honestly, this is something I always wished canon Naruto had.
The hair jutsu is one of Jiraiya's most unique and visually distinct techniques. It is creative, versatile, and very different from the standard elemental blasts we see everywhere else. Considering how Kushina's hair moves almost like the flowing tails of the Nine Tails, I honestly thought Kishimoto would eventually give Naruto some kind of hair based jutsu. It just felt like the setup was there.
Since canon never gave it to him, I decided I would.
Also, I love when characters use their powers for stupid, harmless, personality driven things outside of combat. It makes them feel alive.
Plus ds1 Naruto is still Naruto and a kid. Of course he would test something like that in the dumbest way possible.
The idea of him changing his hairstyle every time someone blinks is exactly the kind of chaotic nonsense he would find hilarious. And imagine him pulling something ridiculous like Franky from One Piece with over the top hair designs mid conversation.
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2) Would it have been better to give Naruto toad summons?
I asked this a few chapters back, and after thinking about it more, my final answer is still no.
The main reason is simple. I am not planning to write Naruto actively using toads, whether in Lordran or in the Elemental Nations. And I do not want to give him abilities that just exist for the sake of familiarity.
Every power Naruto has in this story needs to matter. It needs to influence his growth, his fighting style, or the world's reaction to him.
Toad summons are iconic, yes. But this Naruto is already juggling Lordran, soul magic, pyromancy, miracles, shinobi training, and the political consequences of all that. Adding toads on top of that would either dilute focus or reduce them to background props.
I would rather keep the ability list tighter and more intentional than stack powers just because they are canon.
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That's it for now.
If you have questions about decisions I make, feel free to ask. I do not mind explaining my thought process. And if you have ideas, drop them in the comments. I genuinely enjoy reading them, even when I do not use them.
As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.
Until next time, Praise the Sun.
Adam
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 15k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 98, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!